JP2017182597A - Control device and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress a printing time for printing an image that includes a first image and a second time from being extended, as compared with the case of printing an arrangement image in which the second image is arranged irrespective of the first image.SOLUTION: The control device of a printing execution unit comprises: a first determination unit for determining, about multiple sessions of partial printing to print a first image, a plurality of head positions which respectively are relative positions in the direction of conveyance of printing heads for the first image; and a second determination unit for determining, on the basis of the plurality of head positions, the relative position of a second image for the first image, which, when partial printing to print the second image needs to be added to the multiple sessions of partial printing to print the first image, determines the relative position of the second image so as to minimize the sessions of the partial printing to be added.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present specification relates to a technique for printing an image including a first image and a second image.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for printing a marked page to which a different mark is added for each page group of each part when printing a plurality of copies including a plurality of pages as a part.

JP 2006-344106 A JP 2000-168183 A JP 2005-088387 A JP 2009-023214 A JP2013-065955A

  However, in the above technique, it cannot be said that a sufficient contrivance has been made for the position where the mark is arranged. For this reason, the printing time for printing a marked page may be excessively long. Such a problem is not limited to printing a marked page, but is a common problem when printing an image including a first image and a second image.

  In this specification, it is possible to suppress an increase in printing time for printing an image including the first image and the second image, as compared with the case of printing the arrangement image in which the second image is arranged regardless of the first image. Disclose technology.

  The technology disclosed in the present specification has been made to solve at least a part of the above-described problems, and can be realized as the following application examples.

Application Example 1 A print execution unit including a print head having a plurality of nozzles that eject ink and a transport mechanism that transports a sheet in the transport direction, and a part of an image is applied to the sheet by the print head. For the print execution unit, executing a print process for printing the image on the sheet by alternately executing partial printing for printing and sheet conveyance for conveying the sheet by the conveyance mechanism a plurality of times. An image acquisition unit which is a control device and acquires first image data indicating a first image to be printed and second image data indicating a second image to be printed together with the first image, and the first A first determination unit that determines a plurality of head positions for a plurality of partial printings for printing an image, wherein each of the plurality of head positions corresponds to the first image. The first determination is a relative position of the print head in the transport direction, and each of the plurality of head positions is determined according to the content of the first image using the first image data. And a second determination unit that determines a relative position of the second image with respect to the first image based on the plurality of head positions and the plurality of times for printing the first image. When the partial printing is to be added for printing the second image with respect to the partial printing of the second image, the second image of the first image is reduced so that the number of partial printings to be added is minimized. Relative position determined by the second determination unit with respect to the first image using the second determination unit, the first image data, and the second image data for determining a relative position To arrange the second image at a certain position. Thus, a generation unit that generates arrangement image data indicating an arrangement image including the first image and the second image, and print image data generated using the arrangement image data are sent to the print execution unit. A control unit.

  According to the above configuration, when partial printing is to be added for printing the second image to multiple partial printings for printing the first image, the second image is the first in the arrangement image. It arrange | positions so that the frequency | count of the partial printing added for printing of a 2nd image may become the least with respect to the partial printing performed for printing of an image multiple times. As a result, it is possible to suppress an increase in the printing time for printing the arrangement image including the first image and the second image, compared to the case of printing the arrangement image in which the second image is arranged regardless of the first image.

  The technology disclosed in the present specification can be realized in various forms. For example, a printing apparatus, a printing method, a function of these apparatuses, a computer program for realizing the above method, or a computer program therefor Can be realized in the form of a recording medium on which is recorded.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a terminal device and a printer. It is explanatory drawing of a printing mechanism. It is a 1st figure which shows the relationship between a target image, a watermark, and a head position. It is a flowchart of a printing process. It is a figure which shows an example of UI screen. It is a flowchart of a mark arrangement process. It is a 2nd figure which shows the relationship between a target image, a watermark, and a head position. It is a figure which shows the arrangement | positioning image of a comparative example. It is the 1st explanatory view of a modification. It is the 2nd explanatory view of a modification.

A. Example:
A-1: Configuration of Terminal Device 200 Next, an embodiment will be described based on examples. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal device 200 as a control device and a printer 10 as a print execution unit in the embodiment.

  The terminal device 200 is, for example, a personal computer, and includes a CPU 210 as a controller of the terminal device 200, a non-volatile storage device 220 such as a hard disk drive, a volatile storage device 230 such as a RAM, and an operation unit such as a mouse and a keyboard. 260, a display unit 270 such as a liquid crystal display, and a communication unit 280. The terminal device 200 is communicably connected to an external device such as the printer 10 via the communication unit 280.

  The volatile storage device 230 provides a buffer area 231 that temporarily stores various intermediate data generated when the CPU 210 performs processing. The nonvolatile storage device 220 stores a computer program CP. In this embodiment, the computer program CP is a printer driver program for controlling the printer 10 and is provided in a form downloaded from a server. Instead, the computer program CP may be provided in a form stored on a DVD-ROM or the like. The CPU 210 executes a printing process to be described later by executing the computer program CP.

  The printer 10 includes an inkjet printing mechanism 100 that prints an image on a sheet, and a control unit 15 that includes a CPU and a memory that control the printing mechanism 100.

  The printing mechanism 100 performs printing by discharging each ink (droplet) of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K). The printing mechanism 100 includes a print head 110, a head driver 120, a main scanning mechanism 130, and a transport mechanism 140.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the printing mechanism 100. FIG. 2A shows an outline of the printing mechanism 100, and FIG. 2B shows a configuration of the print head 110 viewed from the lower side in FIG. 2A. The conveyance direction AR in FIGS. 2A and 2B is the sheet conveyance direction (+ Y direction) between the print head 110 and the platen 141. Hereinafter, the downstream side (+ Y side) in the transport direction AR is also simply referred to as “downstream side”, and the upstream side (−Y side) in the transport direction AR is also simply referred to as “upstream side”. For example, the transport mechanism 140 includes a plurality of sheet holding units including an upstream roller pair 143 disposed upstream from the print head 110 and a downstream roller pair 144 disposed downstream from the print head 110. I have. The transport mechanism 140 drives a sheet holding unit by a transport motor (not shown), and passes along a transport path TR that passes between a platen 141 and the print head 110 from a paper feed tray (not shown) to a paper discharge tray (not shown). The sheet is conveyed in the conveyance direction AR.

  The main scanning mechanism 130 includes a carriage 133 on which the print head 110 is mounted, and a sliding shaft 134 that holds the carriage 133 so as to reciprocate along the main scanning direction (X-axis direction). The main scanning mechanism 130 reciprocates the carriage 133 along the sliding shaft 134 using the power of a main scanning motor (not shown). As a result, main scanning is performed in which the print head 110 is reciprocated in the main scanning direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the nozzle forming surface 111 facing the platen 141 of the print head 110 has a plurality of nozzle rows composed of a plurality of nozzles, that is, the above-described C, M, Y, and K inks. Nozzle rows NC, NM, NY, and NK are formed. Each nozzle row includes a plurality of nozzles NZ. The plurality of nozzles NZ have different positions in the transport direction and are arranged at a predetermined nozzle interval NT along the transport direction. The nozzle interval NT is the length in the transport direction between two nozzles NZ adjacent in the transport direction among the plurality of nozzles NZ. Of the nozzles constituting these nozzle rows, the nozzle NZ located on the most upstream side (−Y side) is also referred to as the most upstream nozzle NZu. Of these nozzles, the nozzle NZ located on the most downstream side (+ Y side) is referred to as the most downstream nozzle NZd. A length obtained by adding a nozzle interval NT to the length in the transport direction from the most upstream nozzle NZu to the most downstream nozzle NZd is also referred to as a nozzle length D.

  The head driver 120 drives the print head 110 that reciprocates by the main scanning mechanism 130 on the sheet S conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 140. Thus, ink is ejected from the plurality of nozzles NZ of the print head 110 onto the sheet S, and an image is printed on the sheet S.

  The control unit 15 (FIG. 1) controls the head driver 120, the main scanning mechanism 130, and the conveyance mechanism 140, and executes the partial printing SP and the sheet conveyance T alternately and repeatedly over a plurality of times. Printing. In one partial printing SP, printing should be performed by ejecting ink onto the sheet S from the nozzles NZ of the print head 110 while performing one main scanning while the sheet S is stopped on the platen 141. A part of the image is printed on the sheet S. One sheet conveyance T is conveyance in which the sheet S is moved in the conveyance direction AR by a predetermined conveyance amount.

  FIG. 3 is a first diagram illustrating a relationship among the target image OI1, the watermark WM, and the head position P. FIG. 3A illustrates the head position P, that is, the relative position of the print head 110 in the transport direction with respect to the target image OI1 for each partial print SP (that is, for each main scan). FIG. 3A shows 14 head positions P1 to P14 corresponding to 14 partial printing SPs. A pass number n (n is an integer satisfying 1 ≦ n ≦ 14) is assigned to the 14 partial print SPs in the execution order, and the nth partial print SP is also referred to as a partial print SPn. The head position P when performing partial printing SPn is referred to as a head position Pn. The sheet conveyance T performed between the nth partial printing SPn and the (n + 1) th partial printing SP (n + 1) is also referred to as an nth sheet conveyance T (n).

  Printing in this embodiment is 4-pass printing in which one area is printed using four partial printing SPs. In the 4-pass printing of this embodiment, the transport amount TV of all the sheet transports T (1) to T (13) is 1/4 of the nozzle length D (TV = (1/4) D).

A-2. Printing Process FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the printing process. The CPU 210 of the terminal device 200 executes the printing process of FIG. 4 as a printer driver. The print processing in FIG. 4 is executed when, for example, a user inputs a print instruction to an application program such as a document creation program or a drawing creation program, and the printer driver is called from the application program.

  In S10, the CPU 210 acquires target image data indicating the target image OI to be printed. This target image data is acquired from the application program that called the printer driver. The target image data is, for example, target image data indicating m target images OI for m pages (m is an integer of 1 or more). The target image data is data that describes the target image OI using a description method provided by an operating system (hereinafter abbreviated as OS) of the terminal device 200, for example. For example, when the OS is Windows (registered trademark) of Microsoft Corporation, a method according to the specification of GDI (abbreviation of Graphics Device Interface) of Windows (registered trademark) is used as the description method of the target image data. Instead, the target image data may be described using a page description language such as PCL (abbreviation of Printer Control Language) or PostScript.

  FIG. 3B shows one target image OI1 as an example of the target image OI. The target image OI1 includes a background BG and characters Ob1 and Ob2 as objects. The color of the background BG of the target image OI1 is white. For this reason, when the target image OI1 is printed on the sheet S, the characters Ob1 and Ob2 are printed on the sheet S, and the background BG is not printed.

  In S20, the CPU 210 displays a user interface screen (hereinafter also referred to as a UI screen) on the display unit 270, and acquires print settings via the UI screen.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the UI screens W1 and W2. The main screen W1 in FIG. 5A includes pull-down menus PM1 and PM2, radio buttons RB1 and RB2, a field F1, a print button BT1, a cancel button BT2, and a detail setting button BT3. The pull-down menus PM1, PM2, radio button RB1, and field F1 are input elements for inputting general print settings, for example, the size of the sheet S, the image direction with respect to the sheet S, the color setting, and the number of copies. The radio button RB2 is an input element for inputting an instruction on whether or not to print a watermark WM (described later). In the present embodiment, description will be made assuming that watermark printing is instructed via the radio button RB2.

  The watermark WM is an image to be printed together with the target image OI to be printed based on a user instruction. It can also be said that the watermark WM is a kind of additional image added to the target image OI in the image to be printed. The watermark WM is an image (also referred to as a watermark image or a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image) such as a character or pattern added to the target image OI in a light color such as gray. For example, FIG. 3B illustrates a watermark WM that is superimposed on the target image OI1 as an example. The watermark WM is added, for example, for displaying information types (such as secret information) and preventing unauthorized copying.

  When the detailed setting button BT3 on the main screen W1 in FIG. 5A is pressed, the CPU 210 continues to display the main screen W1 in FIG. 5A, and the detailed setting screen W2 in FIG. 5B. Is displayed on the display unit 270. The detailed setting screen W2 includes pull-down menus PM3 to PM5, a field F2, buttons BT4 and BT5, and a watermark WM preview screen PV. The pull-down menus PM3 to PM5 and the field F2 are input elements for inputting settings relating to the contents of the watermark WM to be printed. For example, the field F2 is an input element for inputting characters as the watermark WM. The pull-down menus PM3 to PM5 are input elements for inputting the font, color, and size of characters as the watermark WM, respectively. On the preview screen PV, a watermark WM is displayed based on the information already input to these input elements PM3 to PM5, F2. The user can move the watermark WM on the preview screen PV by operating a pointing device such as a mouse. Thus, the user can input an instruction for designating the reference position of the watermark WM on the image to be printed.

  When the OK button BT4 on the detailed setting screen W2 is pressed, the CPU 210 validates the setting input via the detailed setting screen W2 and closes the detailed setting screen W2. When the cancel button BT5 on the detailed setting screen W2 is pressed, the CPU 210 invalidates the setting input via the detailed setting screen W2 and closes the detailed setting screen W2.

  The user inputs necessary settings on the UI screens W1 and W2, and presses the print button BT1. When the print button BT1 is pressed, the CPU 210 acquires the print settings input to the UI screens W1 and W2 when the print button BT1 is pressed, and advances the process to S25. When the cancel button BT2 is pressed, the CPU 210 interrupts the printing process.

  In S25, the target image for one page is selected from the target images OI for m pages. In S30, the CPU 210 executes rasterization processing on the target image data indicating the target image among the target image data. The rasterization process is a process for converting image data in a format different from the bitmap format into bitmap data. The bitmap data of this embodiment is, for example, RGB image data that indicates the color of each pixel with RGB values. Note that when the target image data is RGB image data, the rasterizing process is omitted.

  In S40, the CPU 210 executes color conversion processing on the focused image data that has been rasterized. In the color conversion process, image data indicating colors for each pixel in the first color system (in this embodiment, the RGB color system) that does not correspond to one or more types of ink used for printing is used for printing. This is a process of converting into data representing the color of each pixel in the second color system (in this embodiment, the CMYK color system) corresponding to the above ink. The color conversion process is a known color profile (for example, a look-up table) that defines the correspondence between RGB color system pixel values (RGB values) and CMYK color system pixel values (CMYK values). It is executed using

  In S <b> 50, the CPU 210 executes mark arrangement processing using the color-converted target image data. The mark arrangement process generates arrangement image data indicating the arrangement image AI including the attention image (one target image OI) and the watermark WM by arranging the watermark WM with respect to the attention image. It is processing. FIG. 3C shows an arrangement image AI1 including the target image OI1 and the watermark WM as an example. Details of the mark arrangement processing will be described later. The generated arrangement image data is CMYK image data indicating a color for each pixel with a CMYK value.

  In S60, the CPU 210 performs halftone processing on the arrangement image data to generate dot data. The dot data is data indicating the dot formation state (in the present embodiment, the presence or absence of a dot) for each pixel for each component of CMYK. In the halftone process, the present embodiment includes a density correction process.

  In the present embodiment, the density data determined for each of the plurality of nozzles NZ of the print head 110 is stored in advance in the nonvolatile storage device 220 for the halftone process. The density data for one nozzle indicates, for example, the density of an image formed using the nozzle, and is generated, for example, by measuring the density of a patch image formed using only the nozzle. Is done.

  In the halftone processing of this embodiment, processing based on the error diffusion method is executed while performing density correction processing using density data. Specifically, in the error diffusion method, when it is determined that a dot is to be formed for a target pixel, a value (V−) obtained by subtracting a density value DV indicating the density of the dot determined to be formed from the value V of the target pixel. DV) is calculated as the error ΔE. Then, the error ΔE is diffused to unprocessed pixels around the target pixel. In the halftone process in which the density correction process is not performed, the density value DV is determined to be a constant value (for example, 255) regardless of the nozzle NZ corresponding to the target pixel. In the present embodiment, the density value DV is determined to be different for each corresponding nozzle NZ based on the density data of the nozzle NZ corresponding to the target pixel. The nozzle NZ corresponding to the target pixel includes, for example, the nozzle NZ used for forming the dot when a dot is formed at the position of the target pixel in printing. The nozzle NZ corresponding to the target pixel may further include the nozzle NZ used for forming the dot when the dot is formed at the position of the pixel around the target pixel in printing. By performing such density correction processing, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of density unevenness caused by the characteristics of the nozzles NZ in the printed image. Instead of this, the density correction processing corrects the value V of the target pixel based on the density data of the nozzle NZ corresponding to the target pixel, and uses the corrected target pixel value SV to perform error diffusion processing. It may be realized by performing. These density correction processes are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-63538.

  In order to perform these density correction processes, the correspondence between each pixel of the target image OI and the nozzle NZ, that is, the head position P with respect to the target image OI is determined before the halftone process of S60. Need to be. In the present embodiment, the head position P with respect to the target image OI is determined in the mark placement process of S50 described later in detail.

  As a modification, the density correction process may not be performed in the halftone process. In this case, the head position P with respect to the target image OI does not need to be determined before the halftone process of S60. Therefore, in this case, the mark arrangement process may be executed using dot data after the halftone process.

  In S70, the CPU 210 generates print image data by adding various print commands to the dot data. In S80, the print image data is supplied to the printer 10. The printer 10 prints the arrangement image AI including the target image and the watermark WM on the sheet S according to the supplied print image data.

  In S90, the CPU 210 determines whether all pages have been processed. If there is an unprocessed page (S90: NO), the CPU 210 returns to S25. If all pages have been processed (S90: YES), the CPU 210 ends the printing process.

  As a result, the watermark WM is added to each of the m target images for m pages indicated by the target image data, and each of the m target images is printed on the sheet S.

A-3. Mark Arrangement Process FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the mark arrangement process. In S100, the head position P1 of the first partial print SP1 is determined.

  Specifically, first, the CPU 210 determines an arrangement position of the target image with respect to the sheet S. In the following description, it is assumed that the target image OI1 in FIG. The position of the target image OI1 with respect to the sheet S is, for example, a position specified by an application program or a position specified by a printer driver.

  The CPU 210 identifies the downstream end (+ Y side end) of the print target in the target image OI1 using the target image data. Here, the print target means a portion of the target image OI1 that is expressed by ink dots at the time of printing. The portion including the downstream end to be printed is a portion that is printed first at the time of printing. When the background BG of the target image OI1 has a color different from white, the downstream end of the background BG is the downstream end of the print target. In the example of FIG. 3B, since the background BG is white, the downstream end of the character Ob1 that is the object located on the most downstream side among the characters Ob1 and Ob2 that are objects having a color different from white is The downstream end of the print target. A broken line L1 in FIGS. 3A to 3C indicates the position (position on the Y axis) in the transport direction AR of the downstream end of the print target of the target image OI1.

  The CPU 210 determines, as the head position P1 of the first partial printing SP1, the head position P at which the position in the transport direction AR at the downstream end of the specified print target matches the position in the transport direction AR of the specific nozzle NZx. To do. The specific nozzle NZx is a nozzle located at (1/4) of the nozzle length D from the most upstream nozzle NZu among the plurality of nozzles NZ of the print head 110 (FIG. 3A). In this manner, by determining the head position P1 according to the target image OI, it is possible to print a portion including the downstream end of the print target using as many nozzles as possible, so that the printing efficiency can be improved.

  In S105, the CPU 210 determines all the used head positions for the target image based on the determined head position P1. The used head position is the head position P of a plurality of partial print SPs to be executed for printing the image of interest. A case where the target image OI1 in FIG. 3B is a target image will be described as an example. First, the CPU 210 determines the head positions P2 to P14 for the second to fourteenth partial prints SP2 to SP14 based on the determined head position P1. Here, as described above, since the density correction process is performed in the halftone process of S60, all the head positions to be used are determined. Therefore, before the halftone process of S60, each pixel and nozzle of the target image OI are determined. This is because the correspondence relationship with NZ, that is, the head position with respect to the target image OI needs to be determined. Specifically, the k-th head position Pk (k is an integer satisfying 2 ≦ k ≦ 14) is upstream by (1/4) D from the (k−1) -th head position P (k−1). The position is shifted to (−Y side). Next, using the target image data, the CPU 210 selects a head position to be used from the determined head positions P2 to P14 of the first to fourteenth partial prints SP2 to SP14. In the target image OI1 in FIG. 3B, since the background BG is not printed, only the characters Ob1 and Ob2 are printed. For this reason, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the head positions P1 to P4 and P8 to P12 where the position in the transport direction AR overlaps at least partly with the characters Ob1 and Ob2 to be printed are used. Selected as the head position. Head positions P5 to P7, P13, and P14 in which the position in the transport direction AR does not overlap with the characters Ob1 and Ob2 to be printed are not selected as the use head positions. The nine head positions P1 to P4 and P8 to P12 thus selected are determined as the use head positions.

  The use head position with respect to the target image OI1 is determined when the target image OI1 is printed, for each of a plurality of dots representing the target image OI, among the plurality of nozzles NZ of the print head 110. This is equivalent to determining the nozzles to form dots.

  In S110, the CPU 210 specifies one or more printable areas AA based on the determined plurality of used head positions. One printable area AA is an area that can be printed by a plurality of partial printing SPs at a plurality of determined use head positions and is continuous in the transport direction AR. When the target image OI1 in FIG. 3B is a target image, the first printable area AA1 that can be printed at the head positions P1 to P4 and the second printable area that can be printed at the head positions P8 to P12. The printable area AA2 is specified. The lengths (hereinafter simply referred to as “width”) H1 and H2 of the printable areas AA1 and AA2 in the transport direction AR are larger than the widths h1 and h2 of the corresponding characters Ob1 and Ob2 in the transport direction AR, respectively.

  In S112, the CPU 210 generates image data indicating the watermark WM. Specifically, the CPU 210 generates image data indicating the watermark WM based on the setting regarding the content of the watermark WM acquired via the detailed setting screen W2 of FIG. For example, image data indicating the watermark WM of the characters “CONFIDENTIAL” shown in FIG. 3B is generated.

  In S115, the CPU 210 identifies the width Hw of the watermark WM in the transport direction AR based on the generated image data (FIG. 3B).

  In S120, the CPU 210 determines whether there is a printable area AA having a width equal to or larger than the watermark WM. In the example of FIG. 3B, the widths H1 and H2 of the printable areas AA1 and AA2 are both smaller than the width Hw of the watermark WM. Therefore, in this case, it is determined that there is no printable area AA having a width equal to or larger than the watermark WM.

  When there is a printable area AA having a width equal to or larger than the watermark WM (S120: YES), in S130, the CPU 210 selects one of the one or more printable areas AA having a width equal to or larger than the watermark WM. One printable area AA whose position in the transport direction AR is closest to the reference position of the watermark WM is selected. The reference position of the watermark WM is a position designated by the user via the above-described detailed setting screen W2 (FIG. 5B). As a modification, the reference position may be a predetermined position, for example, a position where the center of gravity of the target image OI1 and the center of gravity of the watermark WM coincide. In FIG. 3B, it is assumed that the watermark WM is arranged at the reference position with respect to the target image OI1.

  If there is no printable area AA having a width equal to or greater than the watermark WM (S120: NO), in S125, the CPU 210 prints one print having the maximum width from one or more printable areas AA. A possible area AA is selected. In the example of FIG. 3B, the second printable area AA2 having the larger width among the printable areas AA1 and AA2 is selected.

  In S135, the CPU 210 selects either the upstream end or the downstream end of the selected printable area AA based on the reference position of the watermark WM. Specifically, the watermark WM is arranged on the target image OI1 so that the upstream end of the watermark WM matches the upstream end of the selected printable area AA in the transport direction AR. The case is the first case. A second case where the watermark WM is arranged on the target image OI1 so that the downstream end of the watermark WM and the downstream end of the selected printable area AA coincide with each other in the transport direction AR. In the case of Of the first case and the second case, the one with the smaller movement amount of the watermark WM from the reference position is adopted. When the first case is adopted, the upstream end of the printable area AA is selected, and when the second case is adopted, the downstream end of the printable area AA is selected. When the position of the watermark WM in FIG. 3B is the reference position, the second case where the upstream end of the watermark WM matches the upstream end of the second printable area AA2 is the first. In this case, the amount of movement of the watermark WM from the reference position is smaller. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 3B, the upstream end of the second printable area AA2 is selected. Further, in this step, in addition to the movement amount condition, on the condition that a part of the watermark WM does not protrude outside the printing range on the sheet S, the upstream end of the selected printable area AA. And either of the downstream ends is selected.

  In S140, the CPU 210 determines an arrangement position of the watermark WM with respect to the target image OI1 based on the selected end of the selected printable area AA. For example, in the case of FIG. 3B in which the second printable area AA2 is selected in S130 and the upstream end of the second printable area AA2 is selected in S135, the second printable area is available. The arrangement position of the watermark WM is determined so that the positions of the upstream end of the area AA2 and the upstream end of the watermark WM coincide with each other in the transport direction AR.

  In S145, the CPU 210 generates arrangement image data indicating the arrangement image AI1 by arranging the watermark WM at the decided arrangement position with respect to the target image OI1. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3C, arrangement image data indicating the arrangement image AI1 in which the position of the watermark WM is adjusted from the reference position is generated.

  FIG. 7 is a second diagram illustrating the relationship among the target image OI1, the watermark WM, and the head position P. For the sake of understanding, the mark arrangement process will be described by taking, as an example, the target image OI2 in FIG. 7B different from the target image OI1 in FIG.

  The head positions P1 to P14 in FIG. 7A are the same as those in FIG. The target image OI2 of FIG. 7B includes a drawing Ob3 instead of the character Ob2 of the target image OI1. If the target image is the target image OI2, the head positions P1 to P4 for printing the character Ob1 and the head positions P6 to P12 for printing the drawing Ob3 are used head positions in S105. It is determined (FIG. 7A). In S110, the printable area AA1 that can be printed at the head positions P1 to P4 and the third printable area AA3 that can be printed at the head positions P6 to P12 are specified (FIG. 7B). ).

  In the example of FIG. 7B, the width H1 of the first printable area AA1 is smaller than the width Hw of the watermark WM, but the width H3 of the third printable area AA3 is larger than the width Hw of the watermark WM. large. Therefore, in S120, it is determined that there is a printable area AA having a width equal to or larger than the watermark WM. In S130, the third printable area AA3 having a width equal to or larger than the watermark WM is selected.

  In the example of FIG. 7B, when the downstream end of the watermark WM and the downstream end of the third printable area AA3 are made to coincide, the upstream end of the watermark WM and the upstream of the third printable area AA3. The amount of movement of the watermark WM from the reference position is smaller than when the edges are matched. Accordingly, in the example of FIG. 7B, the downstream end of the third printable area AA3 is selected in S135. In S140, the arrangement position of the watermark WM is determined such that the downstream end of the third printable area AA3 and the downstream end of the watermark WM are aligned in the transport direction AR. As a result, in S145, as shown in FIG. 7C, arrangement image data indicating the arrangement image AI2 in which the position of the watermark WM is adjusted from the reference position is generated.

  According to the embodiment described above, in the mark arrangement process of FIG. 6, a plurality of images for printing the target image OI (for example, the target image OI1 of FIG. 3B and the target image OI2 of FIG. 7B) are printed. A plurality of head positions P are determined for each partial printing SP (S100, S105). Based on the plurality of head positions P, the relative position of the watermark WM with respect to the target image OI is determined (S115 to S140). In this case, when the partial print SP is to be added for printing the watermark WM with respect to the multiple partial print SP for the target image OI, the number of partial print SPs to be added is the smallest. In this way, the position of the watermark WM is determined. As a result, it is possible to suppress an increase in the printing time for printing the layout image AI including the target image OI and the watermark WM.

  explain in detail. For example, as shown in FIG. 3B, it is assumed that printing is performed with the watermark WM being placed at the reference position. In this case, the downstream end (+ Y side end) of the watermark WM is located downstream from the upstream end (the broken line L2 in FIG. 3B) of the head position P3 of the partial printing SP3. In this case, in order to print the watermark WM, in addition to the partial prints SP8 to SP12 corresponding to the head positions P8 to P12 for printing the character Ob2, the five times corresponding to the head positions P3 to P7 are used. It is necessary to add printing SP3 to SP7.

  Furthermore, a comparative example is shown. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement image AI1X of the comparative example. In this arrangement image AI1X, the watermark WM is arranged such that the upstream end (−Y side end) of the character Ob2 and the upstream end of the watermark WM are aligned in the transport direction AR. In this example, the downstream end (+ Y side end) of the watermark WM is located downstream from the upstream end (broken line L3 in FIG. 8B) of the head position P5 of the partial printing SP5. Therefore, in order to print the watermark WM of the arrangement image AI1X, it is necessary to add three partial prints SP5 to SP7 corresponding to the head positions P5 to P7 in addition to the partial prints SP8 to SP12.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, one or more printable areas AA that can be printed by a plurality of partial printing SPs for printing the target image OI are specified (S110), and the printable areas AA are specified in the printable areas AA. Based on this, the relative position of the watermark WM is determined (S120 to S140). More specifically, one end of the upstream end and the downstream end of the specific region in the one or more printable regions AA, and the corresponding end of the upstream end and the downstream end of the watermark WM, The relative positions of the watermarks WM are determined so that the positions in the transport direction AR coincide with each other (S135, S140). In the example of FIG. 3C, as described above, the watermark WM is positioned so that the upstream end of the second printable area AA2 and the upstream end of the watermark WM coincide with each other in the transport direction AR. The relative position has been determined. As a result, for example, in the example of FIG. 3C, the downstream end (+ Y side end) of the watermark WM is upstream of the upstream end of the head position P5 of the partial printing SP5 (broken line L3 in FIG. 3C). Located on the side. Therefore, in the arrangement image AI1 of the present embodiment, the partial printing added for printing the watermark WM may be only the two partial printings SP6 and SP7 corresponding to the head positions P6 and P7. Thus, unlike FIG. 3B and the comparative example, the number of partial print SPs to be added can be minimized. Therefore, regardless of the position and size of the object of the target image OI, it is possible to suppress an increase in the printing time for printing the arrangement image AI compared to the case where the arrangement image in which the watermark WM is arranged is printed.

  More specifically, in this embodiment, as described above, the upstream end of the second printable area AA2 and the upstream end of the watermark WM are aligned with each other in the transport direction AR. The relative position has been determined. As a result, the width Hu (FIG. 3C) of the portion printed by the last partial print SP12 for printing the watermark WM, that is, the partial print SP12 at the head position P12, of the watermark WM is (1). / 4) Becomes D. As a result, the number of partial print SPs to be added can be minimized. For example, in the comparative example of FIG. 8B, the width Hux (FIG. 8B) of the portion printed by the last partial printing SP12 that prints the watermark WM is less than (1/4) D. ing. Further, the width Hdx (FIG. 8B) of the portion printed by the first partial printing SP5 for printing the watermark WM is also less than (1/4) D. This increases the possibility that the number of partial print SPs to be added cannot be minimized. Generally speaking, the reference value (1/4) D is equal to (1 / M) of the nozzle length D when uniform feed M-pass printing (in this embodiment, M = 4) is performed. ) Value.

  As in the example of FIG. 7C, the relative positions of the watermarks WM so that the downstream end of the third printable area AA3 and the downstream end of the watermark WM coincide with each other in the transport direction AR. In some cases, a specific position is determined. In this case, of the watermark WM, the width Hd of the first partial print SP6 for printing the watermark WM, that is, the portion printed by the partial print SP6 at the head position P6 is (1/4) D. Become. Even in this case, the number of partial print SPs to be added can be minimized. Generally speaking, the width of a portion printed by at least one of the first partial print SP and the last partial print SP for printing the watermark WM is equal to or greater than a reference (for example, (1/4) D). In this way, the relative position of the watermark WM may be determined.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when the width of the watermark WM is larger than the width of the specific area of the one or more printable areas AA, the partial printing is performed a plurality of times for printing the watermark WM. The relative position of the watermark WM is determined so that the printable area includes the specific area. For example, in the example of FIG. 3C, the width Hw of the watermark WM is larger than the width H2 of the second printable area AA2. The partial printing SP6 to SP12 for multiple times for printing the watermark WM includes SP8 to SP12 for printing the character Ob2. Therefore, it can be seen that the area that can be printed by the multiple partial printing SP6 to SP12 for printing the watermark WM includes the second printable area AA2. In this way, when the width Hw of the watermark WM is larger than the width of the specific area, the relative position of the watermark WM can be appropriately determined.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when the width of the watermark WM is smaller than the width of the specific area of the one or more printable areas AA, the partial printing is performed a plurality of times for printing the watermark WM. The relative position of the watermark WM is determined so that the printable area is included in the specific area. For example, in the example of FIG. 7C, the width Hw of the watermark WM is smaller than the width H3 of the third printable area AA3. A plurality of partial prints SP6 to SP12 for printing the watermark WM are included in SP6 to SP12 for printing the drawing Ob3. Therefore, it can be seen that the area that can be printed by the multiple partial printing SP6 to SP12 for printing the watermark WM is included in the third printable area AA3. In this way, when the width Hw of the watermark WM is smaller than the width of the specific area, the relative position of the watermark WM can be appropriately determined.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the widths H1 and H2 of the plurality of printable areas AA1 and AA2 and the width Hw of the watermark WM are specified, and the widths of the plurality of printable areas AA1 and AA2 are specified. The relative position of the watermark WM is determined using H1 and H2 and the width Hw of the watermark WM (S120 to S140). Thereby, the relative position of the watermark WM can be appropriately determined. For example, if there is a printable area AA having a width larger than the width Hw of the watermark WM, the watermark WM is arranged in the printable area AA (S130), so there is no need to add the partial print SP12. Therefore, the addition of the partial printing SP12 can be suppressed. If there is no printable area AA having a width larger than the width Hw of the watermark WM, the watermark WM is arranged so as to overlap the printable area AA having the maximum width (S125). The number of printing SPs can be minimized.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the head position P for a plurality of partial printings for printing the target image OI is determined based on the position of the downstream end of the target image OI (S100, S105). As a result, the head position can be appropriately determined so as to suppress an increase in the number of times of partial printing for printing the target image OI.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the head position is determined in the mark placement process in S50 using the target image data converted by the color conversion process in S40 of FIG. As a result, the head position can be determined at an appropriate timing. For example, as in the present embodiment, when the density correction process is performed in the halftone process of S60, as described above, the head position needs to be determined before S60. Even in such a case, the head position can be determined with no problem. As a modification, mark arrangement processing may be performed using target image data that is RGB image data after rasterization processing and before color conversion processing.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the relative position of the watermark WM is determined based on the head position with respect to the target image OI and the reference position of the watermark WM (S135, S140). As a result, the relative position of the watermark WM can be appropriately determined using the reference position. For example, since the reference position is determined based on an instruction acquired from the user via the display unit 270, the relative position of the watermark WM can be appropriately determined as a position in accordance with the user's intention.

  Further, in the above embodiment, as can be understood from S25 and S90 in FIG. 4, when the target image data indicates a plurality of target images for a plurality of pages, the head position P with respect to the target image OI is set for each page. Based on the determined head position P for each page, the relative position of the watermark WM is determined for each page. Accordingly, it is possible to appropriately suppress an increase in the printing time for printing the arrangement images AI for a plurality of pages.

B. Variations:
(1) In FIG. 9, the additional image added to the target image OI is the watermark WM, but is not limited thereto. FIG. 9 is a first explanatory diagram of a modified example. In this modification, a tag TG is added as an additional image instead of the watermark WM to the target image OI in FIG. The tag TG is added at a position along one end (+ X side end) of the sheet S in the main scanning direction. For this reason, even when another one or more sheets are stacked on the specific sheet S, the user can recognize the tag TG printed on the specific sheet S. The tag TG is, for example, an image that has a rectangle and is entirely filled with a single color. Therefore, the image data indicating the tag TG is data including, for example, a color value indicating the color of the tag TG and information indicating the size of the tag TG rectangle.

  The tag TG is added in order to improve the efficiency of sorting the plurality of printed sheets by the user. For example, printing of (M × N) sheets is performed by printing only N copies (N is an integer equal to or greater than 2) of images having M pages (M is an integer equal to or greater than 2). In this case, a tag TG is added to the image indicating the first page of each of the N parts. This facilitates the user's task of classifying (M × N) sheets into parts. The tag TG may be added so that the colors and positions are different among a plurality of copies when the number of pages M per portion is relatively small. The tag TG may be added only when the load of the classification work is considered to be relatively high because the number of pages M per part is relatively large. A tag TG having a different color and position may be added for each print job, for each user instructing printing, or for each terminal (for example, the terminal device 200) that transmitted the print job. This makes it easy to classify a plurality of sheets according to a print job, a user, or a terminal.

  For example, if the tag TG is added to the reference position as shown in FIG. 9B, the number of partial print SPs added to print the tag TG may be excessively increased. In the example of FIG. 9B, the width Ht of the tag TG is longer than the widths H1 and H2 of the printable areas AA1 and AA2. According to this modification, as shown in FIG. 9C, the conveyance direction AR between the upstream end of the second printable area AA2, which is the printable area AA having the maximum width, and the upstream end of the tag TG. The relative positions of the tags TG are determined such that the positions of the tags TG match. As a result, it is possible to suppress an increase in the printing time for printing the arrangement image AI1b including the target image OI1 and the tag TG.

  Note that the additional image may be a tracking pattern. The tracking pattern is a specific pattern for enabling tracking of a device on which securities such as banknotes and stamps are printed.

(2) In the above embodiment, the head position is determined with respect to the target image OI, and the relative position of the additional image with respect to the target image OI is determined based on the head position. For example, when printing two images PI1 and PI2 for two pages on one sheet S, the head position is determined with respect to the image PI1 of the first page, and the head position is set to the head position. Based on this, the relative position of the image PI2 of the second page with respect to the image PI1 of the first page may be determined.

  FIG. 10 is a second explanatory diagram of the modified example. In this example, so-called one-pass printing is performed in which one area is printed using one partial printing SP. The head positions P1 to P5 in FIG. 10A are based on the image PI1 of the first page in the transport direction AR between the downstream end of the image PI1 and the downstream end of the head position P1 of the first partial printing SP1. The positions are determined to match.

  In this case, for example, when the image PI2 of the second page is arranged at a predetermined reference position like the arrangement image AI3 of FIG. 10B, the image PI2 of the second page is printed. Further, it is necessary to add three partial prints SP3 to SP5 corresponding to the head positions P3 to P5. In the present modification, based on the head positions P1 to P5 determined with respect to the image PI1 of the first page, like the layout image AI4 in FIG. 10C, the upstream end of the printable area by the head position P4 ( −Y side end) and the upstream end of the second page image PI2 are positioned relative to the first page image PI1 relative to the first page image PI1 so that the positions in the transport direction AR coincide with each other. The position is determined. Thereby, in order to print the image PI2 of the second page, the partial print SP added can be only the two partial prints SP3 and SP4 corresponding to the head positions P3 and P4.

  Generally, the head position is determined with respect to the first image, and the relative position of the second image with respect to the first image may be determined based on the head position. In this case, like the target image OI1 and the watermark WM in the above embodiment, the first image and the second image are images that are allowed to be arranged so that the positions in the transport direction AR overlap each other. May be. Further, like the images PI1 and PI2 for two pages in the present modification, the first image and the second image may be images that are not allowed to be arranged so that the positions in the transport direction AR overlap each other. good. An image in which the target image and the position in the transport direction AR are not allowed to overlap each other includes, for example, a header and a footer.

(3) In the above embodiment, the watermark WM is positioned so that the upstream end and the downstream end of the printable area AA having the maximum width coincide with the corresponding end of the watermark WM in the transport direction AR. The relative position is determined. Instead of this, for example, the CPU 210 adds the upstream end and the downstream end of the printable area AA having the maximum width and the position corresponding to the watermark WM in the transport direction AR. The minimum value of the number of partial printing SPs to be performed is specified. Then, the position of the watermark WM in the transport direction AR may be adjusted within a range in which the number of added partial print SPs does not increase from the minimum value. For example, in order to suppress the object of the target image OI1 from becoming difficult to see due to the watermark WM, the transport direction AR of the watermark WM is reduced to reduce the amount of overlap between the watermark WM and the object of the target image OI1. You may adjust the position.

(4) In the above embodiment, the relative position of the watermark WM is determined based on the reference position. Instead, without using the reference position, the watermark is simply set so that the upstream end of the printable area AA having the maximum width and the upstream end of the watermark WM coincide with each other in the transport direction AR. The relative position of the WM may be determined.

(5) When the number of printable areas AA is one, the specification of the width of the printable area AA and the width of the watermark WM can be omitted. In this case, for example, the relative position of the watermark WM is simply set so that the upstream end of one printable area AA matches the upstream end of the watermark WM in the transport direction AR. Just decide.

(6) In the above embodiment, the head position P of the entire target image OI1 is determined with reference to the downstream end of the print target of the target image OI1, that is, the downstream end of the character Ob1 (S100, S105). Instead, the head position P may be determined independently for each of a plurality of objects separated by a predetermined interval or more in the transport direction AR in the target image OI1. For example, the head position P for printing the character Ob1 may be determined using the downstream end of the character Ob1 as a reference, and the head position P for printing the character Ob2 may be determined using the downstream end of the character Ob2. .

(7) The standard plural head positions for printing the entire sheet S are, for example, the 14 head positions P1 to P14 in FIG. 3A are determined in advance regardless of the target image OI1. Also good. In this case, the CPU 210 selects the head position to be used from among the 14 predetermined head positions P1 to P14 according to the print target in the target image OI1, for example, the characters Ob1 and Ob2. The use head position may be determined according to the target image OI1.

(8) The terminal device 200 as a control device that executes the printing process of FIG. 4 may be a device of a different type from a personal computer, for example, a printer 10, a digital camera, a scanner, or a smartphone. When the printer 10 executes the printing process of FIG. 4, the control unit 15 of the printer 10 executes the printing process of FIG. 4 and causes the printing mechanism 100 of the printer 10 to print the arrangement image AI. 2 may be a server that can communicate with the terminal device 200 and the printer 10 via the Internet, for example. In this case, for example, the server acquires the target image data from the terminal device 200 or the printer 10, executes the printing process of FIG. 4, and supplies the generated print data to the terminal device 200 or the printer 10. good. Such a server may be a plurality of computers that can communicate with each other via a network. In this case, the whole of a plurality of computers that can communicate with each other via a network corresponds to the control device.

(9) In each of the above embodiments, a part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced with software, and conversely, part or all of the configuration realized by software is replaced with hardware. You may do it. For example, a part of the processing executed by the CPU 210 of the terminal device 200 in FIG. 1 may be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the Example and the modification, Embodiment mentioned above is for making an understanding of this invention easy, and does not limit this invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and equivalents thereof are included in the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Printer, 15 ... Control part, 100 ... Printing mechanism, 110 ... Print head, 111 ... Nozzle formation surface, 120 ... Head driver, 130 ... Main scanning mechanism, 133 ... carriage 134 ... sliding shaft 140 ... conveying mechanism 141 ... platen 143 ... upstream roller pair 144 ... downstream roller pair 200 ... terminal Device 210 ... CPU 220 ... nonvolatile storage device 230 ... volatile storage device 231 ... buffer area 260 ... operation unit 270 ... display unit 280 .. Communication part, D ... Nozzle length, T ... Sheet conveyance, S ... Sheet, P ... Head position, n ... Pass number, AI ... Arranged image, SP ... part Print, P ... Head position, W1 ... Main screen, W2 ... Detail setting screen, AA ... Printable area, OI ... Target image, WM ... Watermark, CP ... Computer program, AR ... transport Direction, NZ ... nozzle, Ob1, Ob2 ... character, Ob3 ... drawing

Claims (14)

A print execution unit comprising: a print head having a plurality of nozzles that eject ink; and a transport mechanism that transports a sheet in a transport direction, wherein the print head prints a part of an image on the sheet. And a control device for the print execution unit that executes a printing process for printing the image on the sheet by alternately performing a plurality of times of sheet conveyance for conveying the sheet by the conveyance mechanism. ,
An image acquisition unit for acquiring first image data indicating a first image to be printed and second image data indicating a second image to be printed together with the first image;
A first determination unit that determines a plurality of head positions for a plurality of partial printings for printing the first image, wherein each of the plurality of head positions corresponds to the first image. The relative position of the print head in the transport direction, and each of the plurality of head positions is determined according to the content of the first image using the first image data. When,
A second determination unit configured to determine a relative position of the second image with respect to the first image based on the plurality of head positions, the plurality of partial printings for printing the first image; When the partial printing is to be added for printing the second image, the relative number of the second image to the first image is minimized so that the number of partial printings to be added is minimized. Said second determining unit for determining a position;
By using the first image data and the second image data, the second image is arranged at a relative position determined by the second determination unit with respect to the first image. A generating unit that generates layout image data indicating a layout image including one image and the second image;
A supply unit that supplies print image data generated using the layout image data to the print execution unit;
A control device comprising: The control device according to claim 1,
The control device, wherein the second image is an additional image added to the first image based on a user instruction. The control device according to claim 1 or 2,
In the second determination unit, a length in the transport direction of a part of the second image printed by at least one of the first partial printing and the last partial printing for printing the second image is greater than a reference. A control device for determining a relative position of the second image with respect to the first image. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The second determination unit includes
The one or more printable areas that can be printed by the multiple partial printings for printing the first image, each of which is a continuous area in the transport direction. Identify the area,
A control device that determines a relative position of the second image based on the one or more printable areas. The control device according to claim 4,
When the length of the second image in the transport direction is greater than the length of the specific region of the one or more printable regions in the transport direction, the second determination unit The control apparatus which determines the relative position of the said 2nd image with respect to a said 1st image so that the area | region which can be printed by the said partial printing for printing in multiple times includes the said specific area | region. The control device according to claim 4,
When the length of the second image in the transport direction is smaller than the length of the specific region of the one or more printable regions in the transport direction, the second determination unit The control apparatus which determines the relative position of the said 2nd image with respect to a said 1st image so that the area | region printable by the said partial printing for printing in multiple times is contained in the said specific area | region. The control device according to any one of claims 4 to 6,
The second determination unit includes
Identifying the length in the transport direction of each of the plurality of printable areas and the length in the transport direction of the second image;
The relative position of the second image with respect to the first image is determined using the length in the transport direction of each of the plurality of printable areas and the length in the transport direction of the second image. ,Control device. The control device according to any one of claims 4 to 7,
The second determination unit includes
One of the upstream end and the downstream end in the transport direction of the specific region of the one or more printable regions corresponds to the upstream end and the downstream end in the transport direction of the second image. A control device that determines a relative position of the second image with respect to the first image such that an end and a position in the transport direction coincide with each other. A control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The first determining unit determines the plurality of head positions based on a position of a downstream end of the content of the first image in the transport direction. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising:
The rasterizing process for converting the first image data in a format different from the bitmap format into the bitmap format and the first color system that does not correspond to one or more types of ink used for printing indicate the color for each pixel. A processing unit that executes at least one of color conversion processing for converting one image data into data representing a color for each pixel in a second color system corresponding to one or more types of ink used for printing;
The first determining unit determines the plurality of head positions by using the first image data that has been converted by at least one of the rasterizing process and the color conversion process. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
The control device, wherein the second determination unit determines a relative position of the second image with respect to the first image based on the plurality of head positions and a reference position of the second image. The control device according to claim 11, further comprising:
An instruction acquisition unit for acquiring an instruction to specify the reference position of the second image via the display unit;
A third determining unit that determines the reference position of the second image based on the instruction;
A control device comprising: The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 12,
The image acquisition unit acquires the first image data indicating the plurality of first images for a plurality of pages,
The first determination unit determines the plurality of head positions for each page,
The second determining unit determines a relative position of the second image with respect to the first image for each page based on the plurality of head positions determined for each page. A print execution unit comprising: a print head having a plurality of nozzles that eject ink; and a transport mechanism that transports a sheet in a transport direction, wherein the print head prints a part of an image on the sheet. A computer program for the print execution unit that executes a printing process for printing the image on the sheet by alternately executing a plurality of sheet conveyances for conveying the sheet by the conveyance mechanism. ,
An image acquisition function for acquiring first image data indicating a first image to be printed and second image data indicating a second image to be printed together with the first image;
A first determination function for determining a plurality of head positions for the partial printing for a plurality of times for printing the first image, wherein each of the plurality of head positions corresponds to the first image. The first determination function, which is a relative position of the print head in the transport direction, and each of the plurality of head positions is determined according to the content of the first image using the first image data. When,
A second determination function for determining a relative position of the second image with respect to the first image based on the plurality of head positions, wherein the plurality of partial printings for printing the first image When the partial printing is to be added for printing the second image, the relative number of the second image to the first image is minimized so that the number of partial printings to be added is minimized. Said second determining function for determining a position;
By using the first image data and the second image data, the second image is arranged at a relative position determined by the second determination function with respect to the first image. A generation function for generating layout image data indicating a layout image including one image and the second image;
A supply function for supplying print image data generated using the arrangement image data to the print execution unit;
A computer program that causes a computer to realize